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Topic: The races of Tarrod (Read 6518 times)

It is said in the legends of the barbarian races, in one form or another,that when the spirits first came into existence,they found continent of Tarrod to dry and inhospitable for life. Determined to rectify this,they flooded the land of Tarrod with water,thereby ensuring that life could thrive.

The reason behind the prevalence of this classic myth, is perhaps the fact that the sentient races of Tarrod are intelligent amphibians that spend most of their existence in water,venturing out to the dry pockets of land only rarely. Extremely exotic and bizzare looking,they are the like of which no one from the known and civilized world has ever seen,nor probaly ever will. What none of them knows,is that they are actually the creations of the long vanished ancient race that created the sumbmerged continent of Tarrod.

The Eshal being the most successful and powerful of their creations, are worthy of an entire section to themselves and will not be mentioned here.

« Last Edit: November 17, 2006, 09:34:19 AM by Maggot »

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

ull DescriptionMuch like the rest of the denizens of this land, the Curd are primarily quadrupeds. They move about most comfortably on four limbs, but are also able to stand erect and move in an erect gait, but without the same speed and surety of their four-legged gait.

The average Curd is 14 to 16 feet long, with about 1/3 of that length being tail. They do not have the same lizard-like splayed legs of a terran crocodile, but instead have their legs under their body like a mammal. This gives them significantly more ground clearance. They also have a central ridge in their spine where powerful muscle groups are anchored. This allows the curd to stand on its rear legs, and move its heavy upper torso. During the mating season, male curd will rear up on their hind legs and crash head first into one another, mouths agape in a display of masculine power. This is resolved in the manner of a game of chicken, or until a potential rival submits to the dominant male. In normal life, this sledgehammer attack is irresistable to opponents.

Given the soft-skinned nature of amphibians, the Falling jaws attack crushes bone, shreds flesh, and even a glancing hit can cripple an Anura warmaster for the rest of its life.

The Curd tail deserves mention. It is heavy, and flexible, but not the loose flexibility of a monkey tail, but the heavy articulation of a tank tread. The tail is used in a sculling motion to propel the curd through the water. It can also be used as a third point in a tripod stance that curd take when standing but not moving. In times of hostility, curd will often use the tail as a battering weapon. This is to ensure their own survival, as mating contests do not end with the death of young curd. Coupled with the superior mass of the curd, the tail is able to bowl over any of the other resident races.

Ancient traditions and way of life

Traditionally, the Curd have been simple hunters and fishers that live in small family groups, wondering the vast swamps that they call their home. Each family group typically consists of a male Curd with his mate and offspring, congregating together in large groups only during the seasons of mating, when young male Curd warriors spar with each other for the hand of a desirable female. The victor was then subjected to careful scrutiny by the female and if she was satisfied, they would join together in a simple but profound bonding ceremony symbolised by the twin tooths that each of them extract out of their own respective mouths.The agony that ensues when the a tooth is ripped out from their gums, serves to remind them to honor this bond through even the hardest times. For this bond is eternal. Curds mate for life and neither will take another mate, should one die.

Their faith is extremely primitive, mostly revolving around the worship of ancestral spirits and the guardian nature spirits that are said to look over each family. There are no shamans or priests,with each each head of the family being able to call upon his ancestors and guardian spirits when in need due to the innate bond with the spirits of his ancestors that is carried in his blood. Daily prayers and offerings are often used to to let the deceased elders understand that their descendents have not forgotten them. All Curd live in fear of a vengeful elder returning as some dangerous form of nature to strike them down for their lack of filial piety. For this reason, worship to the memory of one's elders is never neglected, forming the closest thing they have to a true religion. Even the spirits that rule nature are never shown this attention, for the spirits of nature are capricious and self-absorbed, their ears closed to whatever prayer or pleas the creatures of the earth might offer them.

They are extremely fond and protective of their children and will kill anything that threatens them. This mean that one would not wish to find himself between a male Curd and his hatchlings. This is due to the fact that throughout her life, the female Curd only lays five eggs. To even lose one to to predators would be a crushing blow. For this reason, the death of a child is considered an unforgivable crime and the father will never rest until he has collected the head of the killer as a trophy, be it beast or sentient being. If the father fails to accomplish this in his lifetime,the blood debt is passed on to his sons who must now carry on the task of finding the killer of their sibling. Hence their deep and powerful hatred for the murderous priests of the self-proclaimed Brave People that callously use Curd females and infants as victims for their foul sacrifices. Many Curds see in these foul rituals a cunning plan to eliminate their race, given the low rate of reproduction that their race is afflicted with, at least in comparison to the teeming numbers of of the others peoples that wander Tarrod.

Possessed with a powerful loathing of any kind of potent power that stems from the work of anything other than the simple forces of nature, they are unsurprisingly terrified of anything that appears unnatural in their innocent eyes, viewing it as the work of evil summoned into existence by their hated oppressors and are quick to blame any unusual disaster that befalls them on the sinister clerics of the Eshal. Almost anything, from devastating outbreak of disease that kills the heart-breakingly precious infants, to savage attacks by some monstrous horror hitherto unseen within the darkness of the swamps, are attributed to these accursed sorcerers among the enemy.

And yet the supposed atrocities inflicted on them from afar by the Eshal priests simply cannot compare to those which the more secular among the ranks of those feorcious and ruthless people have imposed on them. Uprooted from an ancient way of life by hordes of Eshal settlers slithering into swamps wrested from the hands of the Curd, many of of the swamp aborogines are now forced by Eshal warriors to live in squalid, cramped settlements, as their traditional fishing grounds are stripped of anything edible, or dammed so that gold on the river beds can be collected. Curds that resist the enslavement of their race by fighting back are punished by being forced to witness the Eshal slay their mate and brood slain outright or reserve them for the far grimmer fate of sacrifice. As far as the Brave People are concerned, the Curds with their very conspicious absence of what most would term material civilization, are scarcely better than most of the other beasts lurking in the watery wastse of Tarrod.

The Curd abbhor this as a mortal insult and crime, one that further fuels their obssesive urge to honor the traditional vendetta. Escaped male Curds that have seen their mates and offspring taken away by the Eshal priests, now bond together with other vengeful male Curds in the deepest parts of the swamps and form war-bands of resistance that ferociously attack the concentration camps and free their prisoners. All Eshal defeated, are quickly slain and their heads are taken as ritual trophies by the Curd fighters, with especial preference showered on the much hated priests found among the enemy. The rest of a fallen foe's body is mutilated and left behind as a warning to their oppressors, one that demonstrates that a the male Curd who looses his family will not be denied his sacred revenge. Driven by grief and hatred, these bands are utterly fearless and will not hesitate to take great risks that sometimes border on the sucidal.

Language and technologyCurd build large mounds to make the defence of their eggs easier, with there being multiple mounds in a given area. Eshal often have to hunt through a dozen or more mounds before they can find the eggs or younglings they seek for their sacrifices.

Much larger and stronger mounds are erected and scattered throughout the domains claimed by a Curd family. These stronger structures imitate the basic cone-shaped design of the ones built to shield the eggs from Eshal raids, but differ in some significant ways. The mud employed in their construction is reinforced with large chunks of driftwood and river boulders that afford them protection against any dangerous rise in water-levels as they make various stops along the shores of their aquatic hunting grounds. Should they be deemd adequate for habitation , a narrow tunnel is dug deep beneath the mounds, serving as an netrance htrough which the Curd family can crawl through and shelter during the nights when sleep overtakes them. Should the parents wish to leave their offspring behind prior to embarking on a somewhat risky trek, a large rock is rolled across the entrance, barring all entry to would-be raiders, and a series of small holes for ventilation are scooped out from the top of the mound, allowing some air to enter. Though undoubtedly lacking aesthetic appeal to the eyes of any viewer, the Curd would shrug off such an opinion, attaching as they do, very little importance to what is merely a temporary lodge to these mobile people who often swim wide and far in their native waters.

This crude variety of Curd innovation also extends to simple but effective tools carved out of cypress wood, which is a resource plentiful in their domains. A favorite one is their all-purpose long spear that is crafted from cypress wood. Huge and heavy, they are tipped with a razor keen flint that can penetrate even the tough hide of a Dunkleosutous, and require tremendous arm strength to wield. A Curd warrior employs this massive weapon with lethal ease, making good use of his powerful arms to impale his quarry right through the body, be it a large armored fish or a puny Eshal standing in his way. Extremely proud of their huge singature weapon, Curd warriors on a quest for vengenace have often been known to mock the weaponry of their enemies by picking their large, snaggled teeth with any weapons found on Eshal that they have slain.

In keeping with their cherished status, these spears are often strung around with river clam shells, a practice that is borne out of the Curd belief that by doing so, a hunter might attract the attention of a deceased but benovalent ancestor that upon espying the dangling clam shells, understands that his descendant is in search of the river's bounty, and intervenes appropriately by sending a suitable meal in the way of the former. Should a hunt end successfully, the grateful hunter never ceases to reverently offer thanks to his many ancestors, wary as he is of accidently leaving out the one who had brough him such good fortune.

Contrary to what the Eshal belief, the Curd do possess a language, one that consists of numerous growls and whistles, each varrying in pitch and thus carrying a different meaning, ranging from the hungry cries of a hatchling to the enraged bellow of a male Curd whose wrath has been incurred. Though a usually quite people, the Curds never hesitate to create a cacophony of shrill whsitles and deep growls when offering a prayer to the ancestors. Elaborate embellishments on the victories of the dead are often favored, with the Curd intoning them non-stop, ceasing only when his breath threatens to run out. Such a pointed display of reveranceis often looked upon with much affection by the ancestors.

« Last Edit: November 21, 2006, 06:42:56 AM by Maggot »

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Curd Physiology Much like the rest of the denizens of this land, the Curd are primarily quadrupeds. They move about most comfortably on four limbs, but are also able to stand erect and move in an erect gait, but without the same speed and surety of their four-legged gait.

The average Curd is 14 to 16 feet long, with about 1/3 of that length being tail. They do not have the same lixard-like splayed legs of a terran crocodile, but instead have their legs under their body like a mammal. This gives them signifigantly more ground clearance. They also have a central ridge in their spine where powerful muscle groups are anchored. This allows the curd to stand on its rear legs, and move its heavy upper torso. During the mating season, male curd will rear up on their hind legs and crash head first into one another, mouths agape in a display of masculine power. This is resolved in the manner of a game of chicken, or until a potential rival submits to the dominant male. In normal life, this sledgehammer attack is irresistable to opponents.

Given the soft-skinned nature of amphibians, the Falling jaws attack crushes bone, shreds flesh, and even a glancing hit can cripple an Anura warmaster for the rest of its life.

The Curd tail deserves mention. It is heavy, and flexible, but not the loose flexibility of a monkey tail, but the heavy articulation of a tank tread. The tail is used in a sculling motion to propel the curd through the water. It can also be used as a third point in a tripod stance that curd take when standing but not moving. In times of hostility, curd will often ues the tail as a battering weapon. This is to ensure their own survival, as mating contests do not end with the death of young curd. Coupled with the superior mass of the curd, the tail is able to bowl over any of the other resident races.

Curd build large mounds to make the defence of their eggs easier, with there being mulitple mounds in a given area. Eshal often have to hunt through a dozen or more mounds before they can find the eggs or youngling they seek for their sacrifices.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Of all the sentient races of the wrack, the Lurdi are both the smallest, and one of the most feared. The average Lurdi stands an erect three and a half feet tall, its betoothed maw smashed into a cowl shaped head that seems to lack a neck. The eyes are large and slightly protuberant, offering the Lurdi near 360 degree vision. They have a large and well developed sense of smell, especially keen in the scenting of blood which drives them into a mad frenzy.

Dozens of Lurdi will often lurk, fitting as Lurdi is the eshal verb 'To Lurk', just under the surface of the water. These mixed packs of male and female, adults and juvenile will linger in an area until there is little or no prey left, and then slyly fade away. The horror begins a short time later after they have relocated.

A Lurdi attack is a thing of nightmare. The icthids boil out of the water, screaming with jaws agape. Others will attack from under the water, tearing at limbs and fins with their jagged flint hatchets, filling the water with blood that drives the Lurdi into a feeding frenzy. The eshal and merfolk are their favored prey, and for some strange reason, the Curd are perfectly safe, as the Lurdi hold them in some sort of awe. Even a whiff of Cuada will cause the Lurdi to become restless and more prone to frenzy.A single Lurdi can be just as dangerous as a pack,for the simple reason that if he is slain,his body gives off a certain chemical that brings his pack members rushing to avenge his death.

Sort of a mix between a goblin and a piranah. They dont have much besides a hunter gatherer society, but this makes them very difficult to eliminate by the empire. Plus, during the brooding season, a single female Lurdi can spawn hundreds of eggs, of which ten to twelve will survive to maturity. If even one female escapes an eshal raid, a Lurdi colony can be rebuilt in a matter of two or three years. Reprisal raids don't do much good,when you're dealing with a race that can afford to loose large numbers.

They are a thorn in the side of the Emperor,but sadly no more than that. If the Lurdi managed to pull their disparate tribes and packs into a strong alliance,it might be possible for them to seriously threaten the Eshal presence in their lands,but the suspicions that divide these savage and primitive people are simply too strong for that. Another thing that keeps the savage Lurdi from being a threat is that with the boon of very high reproduction rate,comes the drawback of a limited lifespan.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Lurdi perspective is divided into two great realms. Food, and not food.

Anything alive is food, with the exception of the Curd. No one understands this phenomenon, and the curd are the only species that registers as not food. Even the cuada, who are deadly poisonous to the Lurdi still register as food. Lurdi register as food but only during certain rare circumstances, and this cannibalism is generally restricted to larger schools of Lurdi encountering one another during lean times.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

<Appearance and Biology>Like the Cuada, the Anura are amphibians. A race of frog-people, they have soft, moist skin much like those of the Cuada, but lack the bright coloration the salmander-folk possess. Instead, their bodies are covered with smooth hides of dull greens or browns. Only a collection of scarlet motes that are found gathered in unique patterns on the skin of each Anura serve to enliven their otherwise less than eye-catching, tailess forms. But their physique is certainly more impressive to behold, with the Anura tribals proudly demonstrating leanly muscled and streamlined forms that they somtimes decorate with a water-proof, bright electric blue dye obtained from a certain swmap plant. Excellent swimmers, they use their long, powerful limbs and webbed libms to swift advantage when pursuing aquatic prey. Toothless but sturdy jaws allow them to chomp and chow down on pretty much most catchable prey, sparing them the embarassing fate of having to dine on soft, rotting meat and vegetation the way the Cuada do. These folk like their meat fresh and firm.

<Tribal society and customs>

The Anura are a society obsessed with traditional ideas of honour and valour. Retreat in the face of danger is shameful,as is the idea of bondage. For this reason,an Anura warrior will try to die in battle, rather than allow himself or herself to be taken alive as a slave by Eshal raiders. This is why the Anura are extremely difficult to collect as slaves and even harder to be beaten into submission. Their famous ability as trackers and hunters however,has made them very popular among young Eshal warriors who want ''Anura hounds'' of their own . Any lone Anura out on a hunt has to keep a wary eye out for Eshal slavers.

Their culture is a most interesting one, sharply divided by the all-dominating difference in gender. Male and female Anura only interact with each other during the mating season. During this part of the month,the roving bands Anura congregate at ancient breeding pools,to seek out a mate. It is always the male Anura who makes the first move. He approaches a female, loudly croaking,in the hope that she will respond to his overtures. If she isn't impressed however,she will attack him to drive him off. A wrestling match then results. If the male Anura manages to overpower her,she submits to him and they copulate. hortly after this,she lays a clutch of eggs,over which both parents carefully watch until they hatch. The offspring that emerge, are usually equal parts male and female.

Offspring that emerge from the clutches of slimy eggs depsited by fertilisef females, ifnd themsleves drien by a powerful, primal honing instinct that drives them to seek out their parents among the cluster of adults that wait expactently along the banks of the spawning pools as the young ones hatch, flocking to the adult that displays the same exact speckled pattern that is found on their own newly birthed skin. Males are taken into the band of their father, while the females are adopted by the band their mother belongs to. There the offspring are raised by the entire band,to become skilled hunters and warriors. Their upbringing is hard and no softness is shown to any young Anura, not even the offspring of the Alpha male or female that leads the band, with all pack youngsters being given the same treatment. The young Anura are only accepted as adults after they kill their first Dunkleoustous and bring it back to the band chieftain. This is a dangerous rite of passage, in which many young Anura perish in the jaws of those dangerous fish. But the more an Anura demonstrates the reckless virture of blind courage, the greater it stands the chance to become pack leader, for the Anura are often proud to elect one who ranks as a fearless fighter and hunter during the process of the tribal council that is called upon the reigning chief's demise. Charisma and bravery, not parentage, is what makes a leader among these people.

The Anura fight with light spears that have wooden hafts and points made of sharpened flint. Each Anura makes his or her own spear and never surrenders it to another. They do not use distance weapons,such as throwing spears or arrows, seeing them as a cowardly way of slaying anything and insist on fighting an enemy face on. In addition to being a warrior and hunter, each Anura is also a bard of sorts, who composes poetry and songs of the feats of his ancestors and his own with loud animated croaks, which he or she then takes great care to memorise, passes on to his or her heirs. This ensures that all the Anura remember the history of their ancestors. Often a loud, lively affair, these songs are accomapanied by leaping dance steps and exaggerated movements that provide a visual spectacle to accompay the verbal narrative, and accentuate the heroism and reckless courage involved in the mighty achivements that the singer declares with such proud abandon. The singing is often loud and passionate with the powerful streal of rivalry so endemic among these hot -blooded people, leading the singers into a frantic attmept to completley drown out the voice and performance of a fellow-tribe mate when these ancient art-form is performed as a preldue to the mating season, with each Anura demonstrating with both voice and limb, his confidence that when the people gather to spawn, his or her blood-line will find much opportunity to grow and multiply.

Each roving band of the Anura claims vast swaths of swamp as its lands. Overlapping boundary claims sometimes result in blood feuds running among the different bands,especially if the bands involved are of different genders. Since each gender considers the other to be slightly inferior,there is no possible way either band will back off since by doing so, one gender would be giving the other the satisfaction of having demonstrated its percieved inferiority. With such an overweening clash of egos in a permaent state between male and fmeale Anura, relationships between them are often tense and chilly at best, with only the spawning lust brought on by the mating season allowing them to put aside all questions of ego and pride that arise between male and female.

<The Wise Ones>

Some Anura are born with special traits that allow them to live twice as long as the average Anura and are said to enter into trances that allow them to communicate with the animal nature sprites worshipped by their people. They are known as Wise Ones and are not part of any band, but instead have a small, remote community of their own along the harsh coastline of Tarrod. These gifted ones can come from either sex and upon being spawned, are immediately identified for what they are, thanks to theirdistinctive broader skulls and weaker limbs. They are immediately given over to the other Wise Ones to be raised as one of them. The Wise Ones possess great knowledge that even the scholars of the Eshal lack, though where they get it from is a mystery, for the Wise Ones are forbidden to speak of where their knowledge is derived from, though popular legend has it that it is obtained from the fabled Ulluuuuun that dwell in the great Ocean. Only the Wise Ones have ever spoken to these might water-dragons of great wisdom and knowledge, leding them an air of reverence in the eyes of their less intellectual siblings that view the sea behemoths as divinity come to guide the Anura to the true path by calling out to the seers among them.

Although Wise Ones have to leave the band they were born in, they will always see themselves as part of it. In times of crisis, the band may journey all the way to the coastline to seek the advice of the Wise One that has pledged his or her loyalty to it.

<An uncertain future>

The might of the Eshal empire however, has humbled these proud hunters and their way of life. Their beloved swamps have been seized by Eshal settlers hungry for land, forcing the Anura to abandon them and move deeper into the dry lands, where game is scarce, forcing these Anura find themselves restricted to the few breeding pools and hunting grounds that the warriors of the Emperor have neglected to colonise. Blood feuds over limited land are more frequent. Many have died of starvation and some bands have even resorted to cannibalism.

Those bands that have bandded together to push back the armies of the Eshal ,end up being butchered on the battlefield,despite their great bravery. Some bands have finally realized the futility of challenging the might of the Eshal and have sworn allegiance to to the Emperor as his vassals and send him yearly tributes of fragrant woods,herbs and raw copper. In return,they are allowed to keep some of their lands and are spared slaving raids.

With the recent decline of Eshal power brought about by the arrival of human colonisers, Anura tribes are now beset by a new meance as the soft-skined mammals proves themselves every bit as keen to abduct them as the Eshal.

« Last Edit: November 21, 2006, 07:32:19 AM by Maggot »

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Firstborn of the Gods: the Cuada It is a common misperception of the Eshal that the Cuada with their toxic skin, psychic abilities, and innate connection to water spirits are the firstborn of the gods, just as they themselves are the Brave People. This is a misperception the Cuada are not going to correct.

Cuada Physiology The Cuada are a diminutive race compared to the large and agressive Eshal, or the powerfully muscled Anura. They stand four feet tall with a strong, but soft tail that adds another two to three feet to their length. They prefer to move upright as it puts them at eye level, or slightly higher wen dealing with the typically quadruped Curd and Eshal.

They are very noticable for their skin coloration, scarlet red, sky blue, lime green, lemon yellow and fiery orange are all common colors that the Cuada come in. Most have a series of spots, or stripes of a different color, most often white over their skin. This is a prime signal that they are not only poisonous, but very poisonous. The poison seeps from their very skin, and contact with bare skin is enough to transfer the poison. Thus far, there have been no races able to develope a resistance to the poison, though certain types of leather and cloth have been known to slow speed of contact or offer a poison barrier.

Cuada poison is a neurotoxin that causes siezures, muscle cramps and spasms, and a painful death. They developed this defence a long time ago to counter the fact that they have no teeth, no claws, no bony or scaly armor. They are for the most part contented scavengers and grazers.

Cuada Psychic Abilities Eavery cuada has the innate ability to sense the presence of a sentient, or animal mind. This is as easy for them as it is for a human to see someone walking towards them. The structures that make this possible are a series of tiny receptors that cover their heads much like the electrically sensitive ampulai of lorenzi that sharks have. Some Cuada are able to hone their ability to actually discern thoughts and read minds, and the most gifted are able to force their will on others. These mind controlling Cuada are the high priests and druids of the race.

Cuada History The Cuada are a recent arrival in Tarrod, having immigrated from a more tropical location. The reason for their migration has been lost, but they have found a valuable position among the eel-men. When the Cuada arrived, the eshal were locked in a loosing battle with the Mer-folk, the Anura, and the Lurdi. The tribes were scattered and had no strong leader.

Toltop, leader of the Cuada discerned that the Eshal would be more likely to accept them than the arrogant and vain mer-folk. The Cuada joined with the nearest tribes and served as councilors and advisors to the warriors. Guided by the Cuada, the Eshal scored victories against the Mer-folk. The victories helped to unify the tribes and the Cuada were pleased.

Eventually the proud merfolk were beaten in slavery, and the Eshal turned their attention elsewhere, hunting the Lurdi, the Curd, and the Anura. The Cuada encouraged this aggression as it increased the lands and wealth of the whole, as well as depleting the rapacious strength of the Eshal

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

The merfolk,once the most glorious and gifted of the races of Tarrod...With their mighty armies and dashing warriors,they held off the raiding Eshal.But that was in ages past. Now they are the slaves of the Eshal,tending the plantations and holdings of the hated Emperor and his vile blood lusting priests.How could these once mighty folk have sunk so low?

The might of the merfolk had lain in the strength of their unity. Unlike the scattered,fractious Eshal and Anura,the merfolk were not split into warring tribes,each vying for dominance over the other. No,the mer folk were civilized beings that would not go to war against their own kind. At the beginning of their history,when each of the various mer folk groups had settled in the respective bays and lagoons that they claimed as their own,the elders form each clan made a sacred pact. In the name of the War Goddess Asar,that swore never to turn their weapons against one another. War could only be declared on the ''savages'' that surrounded them,never on fellow mer- folk. In addition,if any one nation was attacked by the marauding Eshal,the others would be obligated to come to it's aid. Called the ''Pelia'',as long as this sacred pact held,their race would remain strong and proud.

So it was for centuries. Each city state stuck to the waters of the bay or lagoon claimed by it,never harbouring ambitions that would break the Pellia in any way.Any nation that found itself struggling to fend off an Eshal raid,would have it's call for aid answered by its nearest neighbors.The alliance was kept strong by celebrations that honoured the Pellia.The Speakers of every nation would gather to repeat the vows taken by their ancestors. How could they falter,when it seemed that the Pellia would endure forever?

Alas,one warrior's hubris and dreams of glory,would shatter the source of their strength,although he meant well. His name,now reviled by all mer-folk,was Daiymon. Born in the wealthy city-state of Aflan,he joined the famous Aflainain army at the age of 18 and quickly rose within it's ranks,thanks to his brilliance as a warrior and strategist. In his 25 years of service,he bloodied the Eshal repeatedly and was elected both War Chief and Speaker of the governing council. His greatest moment of glory came,when his skills as as a tactician helped the generals of the combined armies of the mer-folk nations,to victory against a large Eshal hoard that had attacked a neighboring city state. Following this,the people of Aflan feted him as great hero. This was then that ambition begun pricking him.Why should he,the brilliant tactician that was responsible for that great victory,be forced to work with those mediocre fools from the other nations? In his opinion,only he was worthy of leading the warshoals.In this he was backed by the both the Elders sitting on the council and the common people of Aflan. Their hero was right,only the great Daiymon was worthy of leading the warshaols.

At the next gathering of the Speakers,Daiymon demanded that sole control of the warshoals be handed to him. The other Speakers were shocked and denounced him as an autocrat. Livid,he returned to Aflan.That very night,he had a dream where the Goddess Asar spoke to him,urging him to assume sole control of the war shoals,by force if necessary. With it,he would destroy the Eshal menace for good,the Goddess promised.The very next day,he declared war on the other city-states. The Pellia had been violated.The consequences that followed,would be grim indeed.

For 15 years he fought against the other other city-states,defeating some of them and forcing their warriors to join his army. In the end however,he was crushed by the combined might of the other states and executed for violating the Pellia. Sadly,there was no turning back at this point. The Generals of the other nations who had been instrumental in defeating Daiymon,claimed sole credit for the victory. War broke out anew,as each city state tried to make it's own General supreme leader of the war shoals. Millions died,as the populations of entire states were decimated. Those elders who tried to honour the Pellia,were denounced as traitors and were exiled.All this while the Eshal remained strangely quiet.

Finally,after 10 years of warfare,the ravaged nations were forced to declare a truce. It was too late for their race by then.Seemingly out of nowhere, millions of Eshal warriors appeared,mounted on hideous monsters of the deep,the like of which the mer-folk had never seen before. Easily crushing the resistance put up by the depleted warshaols,they occupied and razed the palaces of the merfolk,reducing their beautiful palaces and temples to rubble. The survivors were then rounded up and brought in chains to the capital of the Eshal as slaves.

They are now in bondage,with entire mer folk families being the property of of powerful and wealthy Eshal and having no rights at all.Each priest and high ranking warrior has an army of mer folk slaves to work on his private holdings,as does the Emperor himself. The more fortunate of the merfolk manage to escape and go into hiding with sympathetic Curd fugitives that fight the forces of the Brave People. In some cases,the bond between mermen and Curd grows so strong,that they can be seen attacking concentration camps side by side.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Swimming with the Great Western Tide that sweeps towards Tarrod from the far west of the Ocean, the mighty and enigmatic Uuluun sing songs that speak of the unfathomable gods of the deep, and wrestle each other in seabed-shaking contests of strength and martial skill.

Uuluun average about 20 feet (about 6 meters) in length, with a tail of about the same length. They have very wide chests and shoulders, while their hips are relatively narrow in comparison; their necks are about 6 feet of their body length, and are topped with a long-snouted, dragonesque head with curling black horns that spiral away from the head. The chin, jawline, and eyebrows are spiny ridges. The jaw is filled with razor-sharp, crocodilian teeth of the same glittering black bone as their horns. The claws of their four-fingered, webbed hands, and long-toed, fin-like feet are also of this bone. Their skin is leathery, not scaled, but their underbellies and pectoral muscles are made from hard, shield-like cartilage. Their long tails end in a burst of spines. Periodically along the tail and at the shoulders, there are pairs of smallish, spiny fins. Overall, they give the impression of a snaky, wingless dragon that is streamlined for underwater travel. Uuluun live most of their lives underwater. They breed, are born, and die in the water, and the sea is their only true home. However, they do have the ability to breathe air for a limited period- two hours at most.

Uuluun are a mysterious people, vastly intelligent and cultured, especially in comparison to the barbaric inhabitants of Tarrod. They originate in the far west, in the Ocean, in a place they refer to as Hluufwuuuoh, "Far-Away Home", which every Uuluun is born in, but which they return to only at the middle of their 300-year-long life cycle, to breed, and at the end, to die. They live in migratory clans of 4-5 mated pairs, plus young, who follow the great currents and fish-paths across the seabed to who knows where. Some of these clans come to Tarrod, or come close, in the very least. The western coast, especially in southwest, bears much evidence of the Uuluun- thought-provoking sculptures of shell and rock, carefully-constructed seabed warrens, short, introspective poems carved into rock-shelves, and the gifts of wisdom which they pass on to friendly species they may meet. Many a tribe of Anura has been gifted with some insight into life by Uuluun wanderers, and many Eshal scholars note a similarity between the Anura ideals of honour and valour and the same ideals of the Uuluun.

Uuluun are a mighty people, but they are, for the most part, nonviolent. It is true that Laiuufohohwuuth, the Black Uuluun, wreaked bloody havoc across the western portion of Tarrod for some 80 years before Eshal warriors slew him, and it is also true that Uuluun clans often attack Eshal and Lurdi settlements, but the Uuluun more often dispose of their violent energies through ritual wrestling and sport-fighting. All forms of Uuluun combat are unarmed- most Uuluun fight by grappling with their enemies, hoping that their hard skins, spiny portions, and incredible might will tilt the balance in their favor. Uuluun wrestling is brutal, truly a sight to behold. Nobody ever forgets the sight of two intertwined sea-dragons, smashing themselves against the sea-cliffs. Uuluun highly uphold the ideals of valour, honor, and martial skill. The perfect Uuluun, if ever a being such existed, would have deep insight and great wisdom, as well as a great sense of self, but they would also be strong, brave (though not thick-headedly so), and skillfull in battle. Uuluun are prone to feats of valour and heroism, though they are not stupid in this- they will not try to do something which is clearly beyond their means, or try to salvage an obviously lost cause.

“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

The shores of submerged Tarrod are dominated by a chain of vast saltwater lagoons and estuaries. Most of them are populated by the Eshal or Brave People,with their original inhabitants, the mer-folk,taken long ago at the end of the ferocious Eshal-mer-folk wars,in chains to Tawichi and the other administrative centers of the Eshal empire further inland. Ample reason then,for the Eshal settlers who moved in to think themselves the sole residents of these humongous bodies of water that extend for thousands of miles.

They couldn't be more wrong. Thousands of miles below the clear blue waters inhabited by the Brave People,there lie the absolute darkness of the depths. The Eshal seldom venture there,telling horrible tales of the gruesome leviathans that are said to inhabit those black waters,horrendous massive beasts and monsters that would devour any foolish enough to descend into those depths.

It is there,in that one place in all Tarrod that can never be assailed by the scourge who call themselves the Brave People,that the strange,melancholic race of the Usholal live,free from all prying eyes. Possessing interesting physiology strongly reminiscent of a large octopus,these weird folk are a study in uniqueness,even by the downright freakish standards of Tarrod. Living in their hidden cities of pink coral,they posses a level of sophistication and even more surprisingly,a philosophy of non-confrontation unknown elsewhere in the violent land of Tarrod.

Their society is a very odd one indeed. Fearful and paranoid of any danger,real or imagined,this is a race that has effectively barricaded itself behind closed doors,determined not to put themselves in harm's way. And thus have been the seeds sown for a civilization where everyone and anyone lives in nigh complete isolation,yet with the generous aid of ingenious contraptions and the mysterious ''Life Web'',manage to carry out their collective responsibility to keep the cities of the Usholal running smoothly.

Each and every Usholal resides in a small enclave hewn out a nice little patch of coral heavily fringed by giant poisonous anemones and other potentially lethal obstructions that would conceal the round steel little hatches used as entrances into their homes. As further precaution,strange devices in the form of little round copper discs have been liberally scattered around the entrance. Emitting mysterious signals that scramble and wreck havoc with any ''probe'' sent to spy on them,they ensure that the Usholal are also shielded from attempts by others of their kind to pry into their secrets.

Such elaborate secrecy might seem nothing short of blatant overkill in the eyes of a human,but for an Usholal dwelling, these are measures that are is amply mandated,given that an Usholal loath to step out of his or her house and confront the physical dangers lurking outside. Thus,all projects and initiatives have be run from an individual's home,making it a tiny base of operations by itself. And the vital information that any base of operations holds,must be zealously guarded.

The interior of a typical Usholal home is exactly how one would envisage it. An oval chamber crafted entirely from a smooth,seamless strange metal that glows an eerie neon green,it is devoid of furniture,since the Usholal with their octopus biology require neither table nor chair. What they do need however,are the rectangular pools of some odd transparent, faintly quivering jelly like substance that take up the centre of every Usholal home. A basic feature,they power the very civilization of the Usholal itself. In their non-existent hands,rest the essential ingredients that make the Usholal what they are.

Emerging from the crystal clear depths of the pool like some absurdly long worm,are two thin black cords of some material unknown to humans. Both end in narrow tapering points that are surmounted by a pointed spear head shaped copper encasement. Between these two point,lies fused an oddly shaped steel helmet that is large enough to accommodate the bulging cranium of the Usholal that owns owns it.

When an Usholal fastens on this helmet,he or she is able to reach out with their mind to access the Life Web,an immense medium of communication that interlinking all Usholal with all the various facets of their civilizations. By mentally addressing the giant nexus powering the Web,they can reach any other Usholal from the safety of their homes,or command the vast magikal constructs that perform all the heavy work on behalf of their respective Usholal homes. For instance,an Usholal who's taken it upon himself to ward the furthest boundaries of his city,will call out to the mechanical construct that he has positioned along the fringes of Usholal civilization. Immediately,a sharp image of a huge metallic construct built to resemble a monstrous shark appears in the jelly pool along with the designated section of ocean it has been dispatched to keep an eye on. Focussing on the image of the shark construct in the jelly pool,the Usholal can silently give it an order to attack any rouge Dunklestous or Eshal party that strays into the hidden domain of the Usholal. Similarly,an extremely intelligent male Usholal determined to pass on his exceptional genes to the greater community before old age claims him,can contact a suitable female via the Awareness Web and speak with her face to face with the help of the jelly pool. With her visage fixed firmly in the surface of the jelly pool,he merely has to focus on it and ask her,once again mentally,wether she would be willing to receive his seed. If she replies in the affirmative,he immediately sends a small,swift sardine shaped construct carrying a glass vial containing his sperm to deliver it to her.Then,when conception follows,he orders a hulking construct designed to look like a sword fish to bore a hole into a suitable spot of coral with its revolving nose drill. A regular Usholal den will soon take form,and this is where the infant Usholal will be deposited,well supplied by constructs to attend to his every need,until he reaches maturity and no longer needs them.

In this way does the massive apparatus of Usholal civilization operate. Physical interaction is nigh non-existent,with all business conducted via the great Awareness Web. This fact is not lost on the Usholal of course, and they do their utmost to protect themselves from the Black Ones,those vile horrors able to slip into the mind of a sentient being and bow the poor creature's will to their malevolent bidding. In a society as connected as that of the Usholal,all it would take is a single possessed individual for a Black One to wreck enormous havoc and misery. Fearful of this chilling possibility,the Usholal have erected an elaborate system of metal towers that give off powerful auras capable of destroying the physical make up of anything that draws close,be it solid,liquid or vapor. It has worked extremely well so far,and the Usholal have yet to be plagued by the grim torments the Black Ones take such sadistic pleasure in devising.

Ironically,for a race so advanced,the Usholal are as fractious as the Anura with no entity remotely resembling a state,existing them. Instead,they have different political organizations that could be loosely called ''tribes'' or ''clans''. Linked by no blood ties or even territorial links,most of them consist of Usholal who live thousands of miles from each other,but share the bonds of friendship and trust.

Each fiercely seeks to obtain entrance to to Ushotopia for its members,the spiritual world said to exist beyond this,where all comers can wander freely without fear of coming to grief. It is their concept of Eden,a place that only admits those who have made an outstanding difference to Usholal civilization,be it material or intellectual. Thus it is,that each member of a certain ''tribe'' hold animated discussions with fellow members on how best to attain this much desired distinction,all the while careful not to let any of their ideas or theories fall into the tentacles of rival ''tribe'' members. (Hence the need for the aforementioned ''probe''busters''.) In this way,do the goals and ambitions of the spiritual world become synonymous with those of this world,thus ensuring a strong connection between the two that is rarely seen in other cultures.

But perhaps the most interesting thing about the Usholal,is the existence of a radical group of outcastes foolhardy enough,some would say even suicidal,to break free of the oppressive paranoia that grip their people. Determined to leave behind the comfort and safety of home and answer the call of the spirit of adventure that suffuses their souls,they are regarded as lunatics for their manic courage and recklessness. Indeed,many of them display symptoms typical of metal disorders common among humans,such as bipolar disorder and multiple personality disorder. But it is also this same madness that drives them to achieve feats of exploration and heroism which would earn them the status of great heros among other races.

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“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson

Physiology:Resemble an octopus and possess eight tentacles. They are all a uniform purple,but their skin can either darken or redden,depending on their mood at the time

Logged

“I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and alienated peers to take over the world when you're old and weak.” -Bill Watterson